By Jessica Eblie
With family roots in the Carman area, Kailey Allan stepped onto the Olympic stage last week and helped make history in the process.
Allan and partner Beattie Podulsky slid to a 10th-place finish in the first-ever women’s doubles luge event Feb. 11 at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. The duo competed at the Cortina Sliding Centre against 10 other teams in a 22-athlete field.
Allan and Podulsky completed two runs during the competition. Their first run clocked in at 55.735 seconds and their second at 53.747, shaving nearly two seconds off their initial time for a combined mark of 1:49.482.
“The first run did not go our way, unfortunately, with a costly mistake at the top of the track, but I was very happy with our second run,” said Allan.
The competition proved tight, with just five seconds separating the first- and last-place teams. The host nation captured gold in the inaugural women’s doubles luge event, as Italy’s Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer posted the fastest combined time of 1:46.284.
In a text message, Allan said she planned to spend time exploring Cortina and Milan with family, cheering on athletes at events such as curling and taking in the closing ceremonies.
With the 2026 Winter Olympics complete and her luge season finished, Allan already has her sights set on the 2030 Olympic Games in the French Alps.
For those in the Carman area who know the family, the achievement carries special meaning — a reminder that even in a small prairie community, Olympic connections and dreams are never as distant as they seem.
